Surgical drains are tubes used to remove lymphatic fluid, infected fluid, blood or other fluids in surgical wounds. Drains are used for a wide variety of surgical procedures including breast surgery, melanoma surgery, abdominoplasties, breast reductions and vascular surgery. Drains are commonly placed by surgeons to drain body fluid which accumulates in the space created by surgery, to remove infection, and/or to remove accumulated blood. Drain tubes are connected to reservoir bulbs used to collect fluids from a surgical site and incision. The drain bulbs are reservoirs connected to a flexible drainage tube sutured into place or affixed with adhesive at the site the drain exits the skin. Drain bulbs remove fluid from the surgical wound through negative pressure suction. Typically, drains are left in a surgical site for one or two weeks.
A problem commonly experienced by patient's and medical staff caring for the patients, is that the drain bulbs collecting the fluid can become heavy and pull on the site where the drain exits the skin. The length of the drainage tube causes the drains to be mobile and they can be pulled, thereby causing further injury and/or discomfort to the patient. The drain bulbs are difficult to manage in showers especially if there are multiple drains.
Therefore, a need exists for a drain support apron that holds drain bulbs securely to a patient's body to prevent the drain bulbs from falling or pulling unnecessarily on the patient's drain tubes.